Grab Holdings

Founding and expansion

The idea of creating a taxi-booking mobile app for Southeast Asia, similar to those being pioneered in the US, first came from Anthony Tan while he was at Harvard Business School. Motivated to make taxi rides safer in Malaysia, Tan launched the "My Teksi" app in Malaysia in 2012 together with Tan Hooi Ling, another Harvard graduate. MyTeksi was started with an initial grant of US$25,000 from Harvard Business School and Anthony Tan's personal capital. Malaysian Cradle Fund also became one of the earliest investors in MyTeksi.GrabTaxi expanded to the Philippines in August 2013, and to Singapore and Thailand in October of the same year. In 2014, Grab in partnership with HDT Holdings, introduced 100 BYD e6 electric taxis in Singapore to form the biggest e-taxi fleet in Southeast Asia. In 2014, GrabTaxi further continued its growth and expansion to new countries: first launching in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in February, and Jakarta in Indonesia in June. In May 2014, the company launched GrabCar as an alternative form of transportation that uses personal cars instead of taxis through a licensed partner in an effort to overcome the lack of public transportation during peak hours. In November 2014, GrabTaxi launched its first GrabBike service in Ho Chi Minh City as a trial service.In 2014, GrabTaxi applied for financial grant from Khazanah Nasional, the sovereign wealth fund of the government of Malaysia. However, long internal checks and processes had caused Khazanah to not agree on a deal. Khazanah later defended its move, saying that the company's policy is to invest in well-established companies and has little experience in investing in startups. It was the Singapore government investment fund Temasek Holdings that had agreed to finance US$10 million into GrabTaxi. In the same year, the company moved its headquarter from Malaysia to Singapore. Founder Anthony Tan took up Singaporean citizenship shortly after. By 2015, GrabBike's motorcycle service rides had spread throughout Vietnam and Indonesia. GrabBike also provides medical insurance for their passengers and drivers. In February 2015, the company launched GrabCar+ in the Philippines. In November 2015, Grab launched GrabExpress courier service.

Rebranding and additional services

In January 2016, GrabTaxi was rebranded as "Grab" with a new, redesigned logo. In October 2016, Grab added an in-app instant messaging feature called "GrabChat" to allow simple communication between riders and drivers and translate messages if the set languages of the driver and passenger are different. In December 2016, Grab launched the GrabRewards rewards programme and GrabShare taxi and car-sharing services.In February 2017, Grab launched the GrabCoach service for booking large passenger vehicles. In March 2017, Grab introduced GrabFamily for young children below 7 years old, to fulfill regulations where children under 1.35 metres must be placed on a child booster seat or child restraint. Later that month, Grab launched a simplified flat-fare structure, JustGrab.In March 2018, Grab merged with Uber's Southeast Asian operations. As part of the acquisition, Grab took over Uber's assets and operations, including UberEats, which led to Grab's expansion of food delivery services. Grab also launched their eScooter rental service known as GrabWheels in March 2018.In April 2017, Grab confirmed the acquisition of Indonesian online payment startup Kudo. The Kudo platform was integrated with Grab's payment system and was Grab's initial step into expanding fintech services. In November 2017, Grab launched GrabPay payment service as a digital payment service among third-party merchants, allowing users to use the app for purchases outside of ride-hailing.In Jan 2018, Grab acquired financial technology firm iKaaz Software Pvt Ltd and which drives the Grab’s super app’s all payment transactions across all the South East Asian countries.

In May 2018, Grab launched GrabFood food delivery service. In October 2018, Grab launched GrabExpress courier service. In 2018, Grab also launched Grab Financial, a financial arm of the company which offers payment, insurance, and financing services. In November 2018, Grab invested in Indonesian conglomerate Lippo Group's Ovo platform. Ovo is Indonesia's leading digital e-payment platform. In December 2018, Grab launched GrabClub subscription programme.

Headquarters and product launches

In January 2019, Grab announced that it will build a new Singapore headquarters in one-north as it expands its operations. It is expected to be ready in the fourth quarter of 2020. The US$135M facility will be developed and managed by Ascendas Reit . Grab held its ground-breaking ceremony for its future headquarters on 29 March 2019, during which it announced a new function to plan journeys and pay for public transportation fares. The headquarters will support a total of 3,000 employees, consolidating its office space currently spread around four locations.In February 2019, the company launched GrabPet in Singapore. Under the new service, passengers with pets will be allocated to Grab drivers who have received training in pet handling and welcome animals in their vehicles.In March 2019, Grab announced that they would be implementing a S$4 penalty charge for users who cancel Singapore bookings 5 minutes after it is made. It will also apply if the driver waits at the pick-up point for longer than 5 minutes. Supposed to be implemented on 11 March 2019, the implementation of this policy was delayed to 25 March 2019. In Malaysia, the cancellation fee ranges from RM3 to RM5.In April 2019, Grab launched its first cloud kitchen in Indonesia under its food delivery service. 50 GrabKitchens were set up in six Southeast Asian countries within a year. Grab also launched their super app in April 2019 to consolidate its online services into one platform, as well as launching Hotels and Tickets.In July 2019, Grab announced that it will set up a second headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia. The company launched "Grab for Good", a social impact program, in September 2019. It partnered with Microsoft to help people in Southeast Asia to access digital literacy programs and certificates.In November 2019, Grab announced they had partnered with Splyt, allowing selected users to book rides provided by JapanTaxi and Careem using the Grab app in Japan and the Middle East respectively.A month later, Grab, co-branded with Mastercard, launched a numberless payment card .In February 2020, Grab launched GrabCare for healthcare workers in Singapore, starting with 24-hour services to Tan Tock Seng Hospital and National Centre for Infectious Diseases. This came after reports of increased discrimination due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making it difficult for healthcare workers to get rides. Grab also expanded its GrabMart and GrabAssistant services to more cities and countries to meet increased demand for online food and grocery deliveries. To support its driver- and merchant-partners during the outbreak, Grab committed US$40 million to relief initiatives across Southeast Asia.In November 2020, Grab announced the launch of its Tech Center in Jakarta, Indonesia for micro, small and medium enterprises .In December 2020, Grab was granted a digital bank licence from Singapore together with Singtel. The Grab-Singtel consortium is known as GXS Bank, and Grab holds a 60% stake. GXS Bank is set to launch in 2022.

Public listing and partnerships

In April 2021, Grab announced plans to go public through a SPAC merger with Altimeter Growth Corp., for $39.6 billion. It was reported to be the largest blank-check merger at the time.In July 2021, Indonesia's Emtek Group invested $375 million into Grab's Indonesian business unit to accelerate digital adoption of small and medium businesses within the country.In November 2021, Grab partnered with McDonald's in Singapore to integrate GrabExpress, GrabPay and GrabRewards with the restaurant's online and in-store ordering.Grab debuted on Nasdaq in December 2021 following a SPAC with Altimeter Growth Corp., where shares opened at $13.06 but declined to $8.75 when the first day of trading began. It closed at $7.22 with a market cap of approximately $27 billion a month later. On 3 March 2022, Grab released its first quarterly results, reporting a $3.4 billion annual loss for 2021.In March 2022, fuel shortages in Vietnam led to increased gasoline prices, and several ride-hailing platforms raised their prices to transfer the increased cost to consumers. In the same month, Grab also introduced a temporary driver fee in Singapore to help its drivers defray higher operating costs caused by the rise in fuel prices. That same month, the company announced that GrabFood, GrabPay, GrabGifts and its delivery system would be introduced at Starbucks in six markets, including Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.